


Someday

by thingcalledlove



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Mentions of underaged drinking, Seeing Other People, Slow Burn, Supportive Relationships, The rest of the crew is around as well, Through the Years, friendship before relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7789411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thingcalledlove/pseuds/thingcalledlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maya and Josh have a complicated dynamic. It only gets more complicated as the long game progresses. </p><p>[In which their relationship grows throughout the course of a few years]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

_JANUARY 2016_

“You once said you were playing the long game,” Josh said as a reminder, watching Maya carefully.

“I like you, Josh,” Maya repeated in a more somber tone, “It’s you I like.”

“I like you too,” Josh stated honestly, not sure how these words were coming out of his mouth, but they were, and they were honest. It didn’t change the fact that he was still three years older than her, but he knew it would change the dynamic of their relationship, whatever that was to be going forward, “And I never want you to not be in my life. So how about we try this—”

“Boyfriend and girlfriend right now!” Maya exclaimed excitedly, interrupting him.

“No.” He was shutting that suggestion down real quick.

“Boyfriend and girlfriend eventually,” Maya amended without missing a beat. Her tone was playful but there was spark in her eyes when she realized he had paused that time. “You’re not saying no...”

Josh grinned and shrugged his shoulders. There was something about this girl he just could not figure out. He was hardly ever like this with anyone else, but she knew exactly what to say and how to say it to make him relent. He put his head in his hands, partly to hide the grin that was erupting on his face. He got his smile under control and looked at her. “I’ll play the long game. Live your life, I’ll live my life. I know you’re out there and I’m out there too.”

“That’s your deal?” Maya asked.

“That’s my deal,” Josh confirmed.  He reached out his hand for her to shake, “Someday?”

“Someday,” she agreed, wrapping her hand in his.

***

_AUGUST 2016_

It was a gorgeous summer day in New York and Maya had decided to take her art supplies out into the city and let inspiration come to her. It was a solitary activity that she could immerse herself in for the majority of the day. Riley and Lucas had offered to tag along, but Maya wanted to do this alone, and as much as she loved her friends, she knew they didn’t always have the...patience required for such a task.

She set up shop in the shade of a massive oak tree, off the path so that she would not be in anyone’s way. She had a decent view of the park in front of her and the various people who frequented it. There was a yoga class taking place a few yards to her right, and a game of basketball taking place in the court a little to the left. She watched the cyclist wiz past the joggers and happily took in the chaos around her, letting it inspire her.

She sketched her surroundings in an abstract manner, stopping to add colour to the pieces that really captured her attention. She was so absorbed in her work that she didn’t even notice the man walking up to her until he was practically in front of her.

The first thing she saw was a gloriously well defined abdomen that was coated in a thin sheen of sweat. Her eyes wandered upwards until they met with a familiar dark blue that sent her heart in a bit of tailspin.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Josh said with a grin as he plopped down next to as ungracefully as he could possibly have managed.

“Could say the same for you, Uncle Boing,” Maya teased with a sense of bravado she wasn’t really feeling at the moment.

“Not your uncle,” He reminded her with a sigh. It gave her immense pleasure to get under his skin, “I was just shooting hoops with a couple of my new friends.”

Maya looked up and noticed the game of basketball had wound down and most of the guys were now gone, with just a small cluster sticking around to take some shots.

“Come here often?” Maya asked with a grin.

“Often enough,” Josh said, returning her grin with one of his own.

“Noted,” Maya said with a cheeky wink.

Josh laughed. The sound was like music to Maya. She would probably listen to that sound all day if she could.

“I’ve never seen you out here before,” He stated as he watched her return to her sketching.

“It’s my first time,” Maya answered as she watched an older gentleman playing chess with who she assumed was his grandson. “I just wandered into this place and just knew that I had to capture it in some way.”

“It looks like you’ve succeeded,” Josh noted as he glanced at her work. It was pretty spectacular. Maya felt her lips quirking up at the compliment, but her mind was already on trying to figure out a way to show the sheer concentration on the little boys face.

It had taken some time, but Maya finally felt as if she had done her piece the justice it deserved. It was just a sketch with colour thrown in here and there for now, but it would be the guiding point for a bigger piece. She glanced over at Josh who was sitting next to her, still incredibly shirtless, looking enthralled in something that Maya thought resembled a textbook.

“Whatcha reading?” she asked in a sing-song voice. She nudged him softly with her shoulder.

“Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry,” Josh replied, nudging her right back.

“Sounds...interesting,” Maya stated in a tone that heavily implied the opposite.

“It’s pretty dry reading,” Josh admitted, “But it’s required reading for my chem. class this fall, so I thought I would get a head start on it.”

“You don’t even start school for another few weeks!” Maya exclaimed, completely outraged at the idea that someone would willing study for school before it even began. Even Farkle hadn’t stooped to that level yet.

“Yeah, well tell that to college,” Josh laughed, “It’s easy to fall behind with the coursework...or so I’ve been told.”

“I bet it doesn’t help that you’re a nerd who chose pre-med as their major,” Maya teased.

Once again Josh let out a laugh that had Maya grinning from ear to ear, “You’re right, that doesn’t help at all.”

“I bet you’ll be the most prepared freshman at NYU,” Maya teased happily.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that. Josh returned to his book, while Maya opened up a new page in her sketchbook, this time choosing to draw a realistic portrait of the man beside her.

It wasn’t until the sun set that Josh insisted that he walk her back home.

“I’ll be fine,” Maya protested gently, “I’ve been out much later than this. You don’t have to walk me home.”

“I want to,” Josh replied with a level of sincerity in his voice that Maya couldn’t argue with. True to his word, he walked Maya right up to the front step before bidding her goodnight.

“Thanks for the fantastic company, Maya Hart,” Josh said with a wink as he walked away.

***

_MARCH 2017_

Josh rubbed his eyes for the third time in a span of a few minutes. The words in his books were starting to blur, letting him know it might be time to call it quits for the night. He stretched out his arms and let out a yawn, glancing towards the clock on his desk. 1:21am.

He closed the book and headed to the tiny bathroom he shared with his three other roommates. He had gotten extremely luckily with the dorm draw. He was able to score a spot in the apartment style dorms where he and his roommates got their own closet sized bedroom. He wasn’t complaining though. The last thing he wanted was to share a room with a stranger. He had enough horror stories from his friends who hadn’t gotten so lucky.

He returned to his room shortly after and noticed the notification light on his phone was flashing. He picked it up and saw that he had four missed calls from Maya. He felt his heart drop in his chest as he fumbled to call her back. She answered on the first ring.

“Josh?” She asked through the speaker. She sounded vulnerable and scared. Two things he hardly ever associated with Maya Hart.

“Maya, what’s wrong?” Josh asked feeling frantic, “Are you okay?”

“I..I’m,” She couldn’t seem to answer the question, “Can you please come get me?”

His keys were in his hands before she had even finished asking. He didn’t even bother getting a coat as he left his apartment in a hoodie and loose pair of sweats and headed straight for the student parking lot where his car sat.

“Where are you?” He asked. He hated hearing her sound so small.

“I’m upstate,” she said quietly, as if she was ashamed, “I went to a party, but…”

“But what, Maya?” Josh prodded. His heart was already hammering a mile a minute in his chest.

“But I don’t want to be here anymore, can you please come get me, Josh?”

“I’m on my way; just tell me where you are.”

He plugged the address into the GPS and peeled out of the parking lot faster than he probably should have, but he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to him at this precise moment was getting to Maya and making sure she was okay.

He stayed on the phone with her for the entire drive over. They rarely spoke, but it was enough just to have the constant connection. There was no way he was hanging up until he saw her.

The house he pulled up in front of was nothing out of the ordinary, save for the fact that it had a good forty to fifty kids milling about outside. None of them were Maya.

“I’m outside,” he told her as he watched the scene in front of him. It made him feel exceedingly uneasy. There were red solo cups and beer bottles littered across the lawn. Clusters of kids were smoking cigarettes and he was pretty sure there were some illegal substances being passed around between them. What the hell was Maya doing at a place like this?

He saw her dart around from the side of the house. She was walking fast, with her head down, but it didn’t stop come of the guys outside from whistling at her appreciatively and making lewd comments as she passed by. Josh frowned as he noticed she was wearing a sleeveless black mini dress and not much else. He wasn’t one to judge people for what they wore, but it was still very much the middle of winter in New York. He reached into the back seat as Maya got into the passenger side. He tugged out his old high school swim team sweatshirt from under a pile of books and handed it to Maya. She tugged it on gratefully.

He watched her wordlessly, still trying to figure out what he wanted to say. She looked to be in one piece, and he couldn’t see any visible signs of her being hurt physically, but he was still feeling on edge. She met his gaze for a brief moment but looked away. She wore more makeup than he was used to seeing on her, and it made her appear much older than the 16 year old she actually was.

Josh pulled away from the house, driving much more carefully this time around.

“Riley? Lucus? Farkle?” He asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting her confirmation anyway.

“They didn’t come,” Maya replied with a bit of an edge to her voice. She appeared braver now that she was with him. “I was on a date.”

The weight of those words settled between them for a moment.

“Some date,” Josh muttered, directing his anger at the dumb kid who would bring Maya to a place like this. “Where is he?”

“Still there,” Maya replied evenly, “Completely wasted out of his mind and making out with some other girl.”

Josh glanced over at the blonde beside him. She didn’t look heartbroken, she looked pissed off. Josh let out a sigh. He was feeling so many things at once: infuriated, relieved, exasperated, exhausted, that he wasn’t sure which one to really focus in on.

“Maya, what if something happened to you?” Josh asked softly, “What if I hadn’t called back? What then?”

“I don’t know, okay Josh?” Maya said in frustration, “I don’t know. I was stupid. I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m sorry.”

“Tell me what happened,” He requested, and so she did. He listened as she told him about this guy named Connor who was a senior to her sophomore. She told him how she didn’t know what he had planned, other than that they were going to a party. She assured him she hadn’t drunk anything she wasn’t supposed to and almost immediately wanted to go home, but Connor had gone off to do his own thing. She found him an hour later wrapped up in another girl. She told him how a majority of the party goers were significantly older and she felt uncomfortable with what was going on.  That is when she called him.

“You know that I’ll always be there for you when you need me,” Josh stated adamantly. He meant it with every fiber of his being. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I know,” Maya whispered, burrowing deeper into the seat, “I really am sorry.”

With his eyes still on the road, he reached over and wrapped her hand up in her own. He let their intertwined hands rest on the console between them. It wasn’t a romantic gesture, it was one of comfort.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence after that. He didn’t speak up until they were back into the city.

“Where is it that I’m taking you?” He asked carefully, watching Maya chew on her bottom lip for a moment as she mulled over her options.

“Home, I guess,” she said with a sigh, “That’s not going to be fun.”

“Where do Katy and Shawn think you are right now?” Josh asked as he headed into the direction of Maya’s apartment.

“At a sleepover,” Maya grumbled. He could see that she didn’t want to do this, but she was doing it anyways, which made him smile. This was the Maya he knew, the girl who was bold and adventurous, but always owned up to her mistakes.  

He had offered to come in with her, but she was adamant about doing this herself.

“Thank you, Josh,” she said honestly, “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t…”

“But I did,” Josh said cutting her off. He didn’t want to think about what might have happened if she hadn’t called. He watched her until she was safely inside before driving back to campus. The clock on the dashboard told him it was 3:30 in the morning, and he knew that getting up for his 8am biology class was going to be a nightmare, but it would be worth it, knowing Maya was safe.

***

_DECEMBER 2017_

Christmas was at Cory and Topanga’s this year. Josh and his parents arrived armed with gifts on Christmas Eve. Eric and Morgan were already there, and it was the first time in a long time that the entire family was all together.

“Uh,” Josh said as he glanced around the apartment. Apart from the usual Christmas décor, there was another addition. Mistletoe. Everywhere.

Auggie leapt into his arms as soon as Josh shed his coat. “It’s all Riley’s fault,” He said with an exaggerated eye roll when he realized what his uncle was looking at.

“There is nothing wrong with spreading love during Christmas,” Riley said as she came into view, obviously having heard the comment from her little brother.

“Lucas is coming tonight,” Auggie added in explanation.

“Ahhh,” Josh said as everything made a little more sense, “I guess that means things are going well for you two?”

“He told me he _loved_ me,” Riley said giddily. Josh laughed at her enthusiasm. It was one of the best things about his niece. Her optimism was infectious, and he was glad that she had a guy like Lucas in her life.

The afternoon progressed with lots of laughter as they all caught up on each other’s lives. Eric was still doing the Senator thing and Morgan was still traveling around the world and ‘finding herself’ as she so eloquently put it. He could see his parents brimming with pride as they looked around at all their children and the things they had accomplished.

As evening approached, more of the guests started to arrive and the apartment got a little more crowded but with them came more laughter and love. Josh stood in the kitchen eating straight out of the chips bowl and watched Ava trying to trap Auggie under one of the many, many mistletoes that were hung up.

The door opened and Maya walked in followed by Shawn and Katy (the two having been married over the summer). Shawn was practically a Matthews anyways, so it only made sense that he was here with them to celebrate. He watched his parents greet him like one of their own, and giving Katy the same amount love and welcoming.

Maya winked at him, but didn’t make a move to approach him. Instead she headed into the corner where the rest of her friends were hanging out. Josh felt his lips quirking upwards as he turned away.

He spent a good part of the night talking to his sister and listening to all her wild stories that had him in stitches, especially the parts that he was absolutely certain his parents didn’t know about. He had missed Morgan the most since she was the one he saw the least. He appreciated the holidays a lot more as an adult than he did when he was younger. He didn’t speak to Maya, but the two of them were never too far away from each other and shared glances a number of times over the course of the night. He pretended like he didn’t see the knowing looks that Morgan shot him.

*

Josh found her on the roof a couple of hours later when the party had finally died down. She was spending the night, crashing with Riley and Morgan in Riley’s room while he was bunking with Auggie for the night. His parents had the guest room and Eric; well Eric had built himself a camp site in the living room that no one had the energy to question.

“Boing,” Maya said in way of greeting. Josh just shook his head.

“You know, I’ll be 17 in a few weeks,” Maya said coyly.

“And I’ll be 20 a few weeks after that,” Josh countered easily as he approached her.

“Still playing the long game?” Maya implored dryly.

“I’m still out there,” Josh answered with a shrug, letting her make of it what she wanted. The truth was that he had become quite invested in this long game of theirs. Every conversation they had made the bond between them grow a little bit more. She was more than just his niece’s best friend. She was one his own best friends. He cared for her more deeply than he was comfortable admitting, even to himself.

Maya looked at him and then shyly bit her bottom lip as something caught her attention. Before he could look to see what it was, she tugged him towards him and kissed him. It was perfectly innocent; the barest touch of her lips against his own for the tiniest of moments before she pulled away.

“Mistletoe,” She said with mischief shining brightly in her eyes. He could tell she was proud of what she had done. Josh was unable to think of much, his brain short circuiting a bit. It wasn’t like he hadn’t kissed girls before, because he had. But that had been different in a way he wasn’t ready to think about just yet.

“That’s just a teaser of what could happen if we make it to ‘someday’,” Maya promised with a smug little wink. With that, she was gone, most probably back to the apartment to fill Riley in on what she had managed to accomplish.

Josh walked over to the sturdy railing, peering out over the city that was more lit up than usual to celebrate the upcoming holidays. Maya Hart was going to be the end of him. He felt the barest hint of a smile tugging on his lips.

***


	2. Part Two

_MAY 2018_

Maya was highly enjoying this whole family thing she had going on these days. Don’t get it wrong, she still pretended to puke when Shawn and her mom got a little too into the whole being in love thing during meal times, but it was all in good fun. She much preferred it to the alternative.

They had driven down to the Hamptons of all places for the Memorial Day weekend. Shawn had a buddy who was renovating a couple of beachside properties in the area and offered to let them stay in one for the weekend. The Matthews were naturally invited, and none of the adults had minded Riley and Maya having their friends tag along. The place was definitely big enough to accommodate them all.

Josh was an unexpected surprise for Maya. He hadn’t mentioned anything about joining them the last time they texted, which was just yesterday. Unlike high school, which Maya still had another month of until the glorious summer holidays, NYU was already done for the summer and Josh was back in Philly.

“What are you doing here?” She lifted up her sun glasses to peer up at him from her spot in the sand.

The boys were in the water tossing around a football and Riley and Isadora had gone off to get some ice cream. The grownups were drinking some beers on the patio that overlooked the beach, leaving Maya alone to soak up some sun in her very cute, nautical inspired, bikini with little anchors on it.

“I was invited,” Josh retorted with a smirk. She rolled her eyes in return.

She tried not to look too pleased when she noticed that, most likely despite himself, he gave her body a slow once over before clearing his throat and promptly looking away.

“I thought you were in Philly?” Maya asked, “You mentioned something about reconnecting with your ex…”

Josh chuckled as he sat down in the sand next to where she was lounging. “Yeah, we reconnected. Though she forgot to mention she was seeing someone already. Imagine my surprise when her boyfriend walks into the coffee shop where we were having our date. Decided it might be wise for me to get out of town for a few days. The drive was worth it though.”

Maya couldn’t stop giggling at the picture he had just painted. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out.”

“Don’t be,” Josh said easily, “Two years of college really changed things between her and I. We’re not the same people we were when we were in high school. It’s probably for the best that her boyfriend showed up.”

“Has two years of college changed things between us?” Maya asked, waving her hand between them.

“I think it has,” Josh replied slowly, taking his time to think through it honestly, “But in a good way.”

Maya stretched out on the beach towel, and watched Ava and Auggie build their mammoth sandcastle.

“How are things going with you and Kyle,” Josh cut in.

“Well, I think,” Maya declared as she met Josh’s gaze. “We’ve gone on a couple of dates and he actually seems like a decent guy.”

“That’s good to hear,” Josh said with a smile. “You deserve a decent guy.”

What Maya really wanted to say was that she thought she deserved him, but she managed to keep that thought to herself…for the time being. Her feelings for Josh hadn’t gone anywhere. She liked him just as much if not more than she had that day at the ski lodge when they talked about ‘someday’. But as he had said that night, he was out there, and she was too. Her feelings for Josh weren’t enough to stop living her life. They both needed to see what else the world could offer them, they owed each other that much. So whenever Josh told her about this girl or that girl, Maya was genuinely happy for him, just like he was happy for her. It is how their friendship managed to work out as well as it had.

*

In the early hours of the morning before anyone else was awake, Maya crept out onto the patio with her art supplies. The uninterrupted view of the beach in these early hours was too irresistible to not capture in some form or another. She sat in front of the angled canvas in her pajama shorts and the sweatshirt Josh had lent her all those lifetimes ago. She was just never able to bring herself to give back. The sweatshirt engulfed her small frame, but it was warm and comfortable. On the top left of the sweatshirt, it had the name of his high school and the school logo. Underneath the logo it said _‘J. Matthews’._

“You know I’ve been looking for that.”

Maya didn’t even bother to look at him, continuing to mix her paints to get the perfect shade of blue. “Why are you up so early?” She asked, choosing not to respond to his previous statement.

“Came to get a drink of water and saw you out here,” He said, his voice much closer to her than it had been the first time he spoke. She saw him approach the railing from her periphery as he looked out at the view she hoped to capture. “It’s gorgeous.”

“I hope I can do it justice,” said Maya, making big brush strokes across the canvas.

“You, Maya Hart, can do anything,” Josh assured without hesitation. “I’ll leave you to it.”

He gave her a light pat on the shoulder as he walked back to the house. She heard him pause at the sliding door. “You can keep the sweatshirt,” He said, “It looks better on you.”

***

_OCTOBER 2018_

“Uncle Josh, I need you to do me a little favor,” Riley begged through the speaker in a tone that made Josh think that this was not going to be a small favor at all. In fact he was under the suspicion that despite her asking, this wasn’t something he was going to be able to turn down without really upsetting her.

“What is it?” He sighed. He was into his third year of premed and the stakes had been raised considerably. He barely had time to do much of anything these days other than study.

“I can’t tell you over the phone,” She said sheepishly.

“Well now I’m concerned,” he replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. He read somewhere that that was a stress reliever. It did not appear to be working.

“Just come over…immediately,” Riley ordered, “And bring a tux.”

He didn’t get a chance to respond because she had hung up before the words had even really processed in his head.

*

“I’m here,” Josh said, as he walked into the apartment that was pretty much his second home in the city. He held up the tux, which he had to wrangle from a friend of his since he, being a normal twenty year old man, didn’t keep a tux with him at college.

“Riley, tell me you didn’t.” Josh looked over at Maya who had her arms cross over her chest with a deadly expression her face that conveyed she was not pleased with his presence, which honestly was a first for Josh.

“Surprise?” Riley said weakly, giving Maya a smile that would generally cause a person to melt in front of her.

Josh finally noticed that Riley seemed to be dressed to the nines, in a peach gown that hit the floor while Maya was wearing a pair of jeans and a loose fitted top that hung off her shoulder.

“I told you I didn’t want to go,” Maya retorted.

“I didn’t think you actually meant it,” Riley answered back, waving her arms around to get her point across. “Especially since you already got a dress!”

“Can’t believe you dragged Josh into this,” May said with a sigh, finally turning to look at him.

“I’m still not sure what it is that I have gotten dragged into,” Josh confessed as he looked between the two girls. He had his suspicions of course, but he was hoping one of them would explain it to him.

“Maya doesn’t have a date for homecoming, and therefore had decided not to go, even though one does not need a date to go to homecoming,” Riley said blithely, “But I thought I would ask you to go with her. As friends. Because you two are friends. And then she wouldn’t feel like a 7th wheel. Because as her friend, you would take her. As friends.”

Josh looked between the two girls, “Riles, you mind if I borrow the bay window?”

“Not at all,” Riley beamed, happy to have someone else try and talk to Maya.

Maya glared at him, but didn’t argue. She did, however, stomp all the way up the stairs, down the hall and into the room. Josh followed behind with a bemused expression.

“I thought you were going to homecoming with Kyle?” Josh asked as he took a seat next to her.

“We’re on a break,” Maya huffed, crossing her arms across her chest in a defiant manner.

“When did this happen?” Josh asked with a frown. As far as he was concerned, things between the two had been going pretty well. 

“Last week,” Maya answered, still not really looking at him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Josh asked, feeling a little hurt. He considered Maya one of his best friends, and the two of them talked all the time. He had just spoken to her two days ago on the phone and she hadn’t mentioned a thing.

“I don’t want to bore you with all my pointless high school drama, Josh,” Maya said, “You’re busy enough as it is.”

“I don’t think your life is pointless high school drama,” Josh retorted, “I like knowing what is going on with you. It’s important to me.”

“I was going to tell you,” Maya relented, “I just wanted you to finish with that exam you have first. I know it’s been stressing you out. I didn’t want to add to it.”

“You never add to it,” Josh stated with conviction. “I want to be there for you, whenever you need me to.”

Maya nodded, but didn’t say much.

“So what happened with you two?” Josh asked.

“He said he wasn’t sure about us anymore,” Maya explained, “But how he still really likes me. He just wanted a break in order to figure things out.”

“Why aren’t you going to homecoming? Riley is right, you could just go by yourself, or with someone else.”

“Riley has Lucas, Farkle has Smackle and even Vanessa is flying in from Texas to go with Zay. I just didn’t want any of them to feel obligated to hang out with me. Going with someone else from school is out of the question completely.”

Josh mulled it all over for a moment, “So then why not just go with me? I have the outfit.”

Maya smiled at him, “But what about Sofia?”

Sofia was a girl that Josh was sort of seeing. They had met last semester in one of their electives, but she had asked him out at the beginning of this year and he had agreed. They saw each other as frequently as they could, but with him juggling his premed classes and her trying to balance her engineering workload, they were taking it slow.

“Maya, we’re friends. Sofia knows that, and I don’t think she would mind me taking my friend to homecoming, and if she does, then maybe she’s not the kind of girl I need in my life. So, Maya Hart, may I do the honors?”

“Alright then, Boing, suit up,” Maya said with a dazzling grin.

*

Homecoming wasn’t much different from how he remembered it. Then again, he wasn’t as far removed from it as he sometimes acted like he was.

The tux he borrowed fit him well enough, but most of the attention seemed to be on the blonde beside him, wearing a short dress in a pale shade of blue that flowed against her figure. The back was cut out to expose a large portion of her back, which was aided by her hair being pulled up in a delicate knot.

She didn’t pay the masses much attention as she pulled him over to her friends, who were pretty much his own friends by this point too if he was being honest.

“The fruit punch is spiked,” Riley hiccupped with wide eyes.

Lucas stood beside her looking incredibly amused, “You think she would have noticed long before downing four cups of it.”

Josh rubbed his temple, but couldn’t help but smile at his niece who would accidently get drunk at homecoming. Cory was around here somewhere, and would deal with the punch soon enough he was sure.

“Kyle is here,” Riley said pointing out into the distance, “Don’t look!”

Maya struggled not to turn and stare. “Josh, tell me what you see.”

Josh turned slightly to look in the direction Riley had pointed in. He had met Kyle a few times, so he picked him out quite easily. Kyle was looking at them too, so he nodded his head in greeting. The other boy hesitated but nodded back.

“How does he look?” Maya questioned.

“He looks like a man who realized he made a big mistake,” Josh replied with a lopsided smile.

“Excellent,” Maya drawled with a grin, “Let’s dance.”

*

The night went fairly well, all things considered. They laughed, danced and overall just had a good time. Josh was even kind of glad to have been semi-coerced into attending. It had been a long time since he actually just pushed school aside and just done something fun for the hell of it.

“Did you have a good time?” Maya teased as they stood outside her building, she was in much lighter spirits. She even had a dance with Kyle, and Josh was pretty sure the two would work things out soon enough.

“Surprisingly, I did,” Josh said, running his fingers through his already mused hair.

“It was the company I’m sure,” Maya said with a mischievous glint.

“You’re probably right,” Josh said, his lips quirking upwards.

“Thank you,” Maya said sincerely. She gave him a chaste peck on the cheek, “I’m glad you came with me. There is no one else I would have rather gone with.”

“What about Kyle?” Josh teased.

“I stand by my previous statement,” Maya said coyly with a smirk.

Josh felt his heart skip a beat for some completely unknown reason. Or at least that is what he tried to convince himself of. Maya Hart was becoming the bane of his existence. He wouldn’t trade her for the world.

***

_JANUARY 2019_

Maya turned 18. She was still happy with Kyle, and Josh didn’t want to get in the way of that.

He gave her a leather bound portfolio with her initials engraved into it. She could use it to catalog her art and it would be convenient to take with her to the various art schools she had applied to for college. She thanked him profusely. She told him it was the most thoughtful gift she had received.

***

_FEBRUARY 2019_

Maya had to settle for sending Josh a text on his 21st birthday because his friends had whisked him away to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate him becoming legal.

 It was when she was selecting the best pieces for her portfolio, late into the night when she got a call from Josh. He had clearly been drinking, but he sounded happy and relaxed. He thanked her for the birthday message and the two then talked about anything and everything for the next two hours. It was when she hung up and tucked herself into bed did she think about how nice it felt to be the person Josh had called, just for the hell of it.

***

_APRIL 2019_

At the start of the year, the gang had made a pact. They decided that in order to not influence each other in deciding where to go to college, they would not tell each other where they applied or where they accepted until each and every one of them had accepted an offer.

It was the hardest thing they had ever done, but it was for all the right reasons. They knew that their friendship would stand the test of time, and that it didn’t matter where in the world they were for the next four years. They would always have each other. No matter what.

They were all gathered around at Topanga’s because today was the day they would finally reveal their decisions. It had turned into a party of sorts, because all their loved ones were there as well; ready to celebrate the choices they had made.

“The anticipation is killing me,” Josh laughed as he watched them all clutching to their acceptance letters. Maya shot him a look of annoyance that held no real weight behind it.

“Okay, well I’ll start if no one else wants to,” Zay spoke up finally. “In the fall I will be going to Julliard.”

There were cheers all around but no one was all that surprised. Zay could try and downplay it as much as he wanted, but he was a phenomenal dancer and everyone knew it.

“Harvard,” Smackle said proudly holding up the letter with Harvard insignia on it.

“I guess we’re both in Boston next year,” Farkle said, wrapping his around his girlfriend, “But I’ll be at MIT.”

The two geniuses high-fived one another fondly.

 “I got into the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU,” Maya announced proudly. Katy pulled Maya into her arms and hugged her so tightly she was struggling to breathe.

“That’s amazing, Maya,” Riley exclaimed, looking every bit as proud as her mom and Shawn did.

“Wouldn’t have been able to have done with without you, Riles.” She took a peek at Josh who wore an unreadable expression on his face. It morphed into a lopsided grin when he noticed she was watching him.

“Well,” Lucas said, “I hope you’re ready for another four years of me, because I’m at NYU too!”

Maya laughed a slightly maniacal laugh, “Oh, Ranger Rick, this is going to be fun.”

“Where are you going to be, Riley?” Lucas asked.

“I’m going to Columbia,” Riley announced with a smile, waving the paper around proudly.

Maya wasn’t worried. She knew that the two of them would be fine. If Lucas and Riley couldn’t make it work, then no one would be able to.

***

_MAY 2019_

Josh and Sofia had an amicable break up. They parted ways as friends.

***

_JUNE 2019_

Maya and Kyle tore each other to shreds when their relationship collapsed. It was probably for the best that Maya was staying in New York while Kyle went off to UCLA in the fall. The two were better off not crossing paths for…well the next century or two probably.

***

_SEPTEMBER 2019_

Josh was pretty much over the whole college party phase of his life by the time he entered his fourth and final year of premed at NYU. He intended to spend the night just chilling out with a couple of his friends, playing video games and drinking some beers.

“Hey Boing,” Maya said through the phone speaker, “Frat party. Right now.”

She hung up and he was left rubbing his temple. He had a fairly good idea that this party would be happening with the frat that Lucas had pledged to on a dare (by Maya).

His concern wasn’t that Maya was not ready for frat parties, but more so that frat parties were not ready for Maya.

*

The party was everything he expected it to be as he walked up the front steps. He nodded at a few of the guys he knew through his electives as he passed by them. He found Lucas in the kitchen with Riley sitting in his lap ignoring everything else going on around them.

“Riley, you don’t go here,” Josh teased as he interrupted their conversation. She leapt up to hug him.

“I couldn’t miss Lucas’ first frat party!” Riley enthused, “Beside’s it’s only like 30 minutes on the underground.”

“I’m glad to see you,” Josh said fondly as he looked between the two. “Where is Maya?”

“She was dancing with Zay the last time I saw her,” Riley said with a knowing look.

Josh bid them farewell and entered the living room which had been converted into a dance floor. He found Zay with ease, because he was the guy surrounded by many beautiful women. None of which was the one he happened to be looking for.

“Zay,” He shouted trying to be heard over the crowd.

Zay looked up and nodded, “Hey man, what’s up?”

“Looking for Maya,” Josh shouted back, “Have you seen her?”

Zay gave him a look which was similar to the one Riley just gave him. “She said she was headed out back.”

Josh nodded in thanks and headed towards the back door of the house which was through the kitchen. He passed by Riley and Lucas who were once again so deep in conversation that the rest of the world didn’t matter to them. The kitchen could probably burst into flames without the two of them realizing it.

Outside was just as packed as the inside of the frat house at been. Music was being blasted through the speakers and it was impossible to actually walk around without accidentally bumping someone. It took him a moment to find the blonde head of hair that he knew so well.

Maya was playing beer pong. Because of course she was. Rules and laws were more like suggestions in the world of Maya Hart,

“Josh!” She exclaimed when she finally noticed him standing there. He couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. He walked over and was immediately greeted by a hug. He looked over at her two companions and recognized one right away.

“Hey, Carter,” Josh greeted. The two had shared a political science class back in their second year and had remained friends since.

“So this is _the_ Maya?” Carter asked with an amused expression that Josh was frankly becoming a little bit annoyed with. What was with everyone today?

“You talk about me?” Maya asked with a wide smile.

“Oh you have no idea,” Carter replied with a laugh.

“Tell me more!” Maya implored.

“Not a chance in hell,” Josh interrupted, “I think I hear Riley calling you. We better go.”

Carter just laughed as Josh led Maya away from him, towards the other side of the yard.

“You talk about me?” Maya repeated with an playful smile.

“You’re my friend. I talk about my friends,” Josh replied as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“You’ve never mentioned Carter before,” Maya rebutted, and she really did have a point there.

“It’s different,” Josh mumbled.

“You liiiiiiike me,” Maya teased in a singsong voice.

“Yeah,” Josh answered in all seriousness, “I do.”

The playful expression on Maya’s face disappeared, “Do you like me, or do you _like_ me?” she emphasized.

“I think we both know the answer to that,” Josh said, meeting her gaze.

“I want you to say it,” Maya demanded.

“I’ll do you one better,” Josh promised.

He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers tentatively. When she didn’t immediately respond he moved to pull away but arms came up around his neck to stop him from going anywhere. Her mouth moved against his slowly at first, but she picked up the pace and deepened the kiss. Josh pulled away first and laughed at the pout on her face.

“I was beginning to think that would never happen,” Maya confessed. “What took you so long?”

“What do you mean?” Josh questioned, genuinely confused.

“I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t waiting for this to happen the moment I turned 18. Which was like 9 months ago?”

“You were dating Kyle,” Josh responded.

“Don’t” Maya groaned, “say his name.”

“But you were, and don’t think about lying and saying it wasn’t serious because it was.”

“Okay, fine. But what about after we broke up? That was months ago.”

“Maya, I wanted this, but I wasn’t going to rush it. I waited years already, what was another few months on top of that? I wanted to be sure that you wanted this too. I wasn't going to be your rebound.”

“I don’t think I ever stopped wanting this,” Maya confessed softly. “I saw what the world had to offer me, I really did, but I still want this. With you. You're the furthest thing from a rebound.”

“Good,” Josh nodded and then laughed, “Because I want this too, even though I’m destined to always be your second favorite Matthews.”

“So we’re finally going to do this?” Maya inquired, her eyes peering into his own with an intensity he wasn’t used to.

“Yeah, I think we are,” Josh affirmed.

“Looks like we’ve reached the end of the long game,” Maya said with a delicately arched eyebrow as she tilted her head.

“I think we just started it, actually,” Josh countered with a lopsided smile.

There wasn’t much talking after that point as the two decided to let their mouths do the talking in a totally nonverbal kind of way. They had years to catch up on.

*

It was a surprise to literally no one when, a few days later, they made their relationship official.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and/or commenting and/or giving the story kudos! I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed this part just as much!
> 
> I know that the story is 'complete' but I've been toying with writing a small bonus scene that takes place a few years later. What do you think? Shall I just leave it like this or write a little more?


	3. Bonus Scene

_JUNE 2023_

Josh rushed over to the nurses’ station and plastered on a charming smile as he came to a sudden stop.

Loraine, the head nurse gave him a dry smile in return, “What can I do for you, Dr. Matthews?”

“Just checked in with my last patient of the day,” Josh told her, “So that should be all.”

Loraine rolled her eyes at him, “You can go. You owe me one.”

“You love me,” he countered with a laugh, already half way down the hall before she changed her mind and called him back.

He was still a resident at the hospital, which meant he didn’t have full doctor privileges yet, which meant him skipping out earlier than usual was frowned upon, but Loraine had all but told him that she would deal with it. She was tough, but fair, and Josh had worked very hard to impress her. He knew that if he wanted to be the successful doctor he hoped to be, he would need to respect the amazing nurses that worked by his side.

He all but ran into the staff changing room and quickly traded his scrubs for a pair of black dress pants and a black button up shirt that fit him snugly. It wasn’t what he would usually wear on his way out, but today was not just a regular day. He was out of the hospital doors in record time. He hopped into a yellow cab and rattled off the address of his destination.

The building was an old one in the middle of the city that somehow still looked like it belonged in the sea of steel and glass skyscrapers despite being made of stone, brick and cement. It was all lit up and he seemed to be late to the party (as usual these days with his crazy shifts).

He paid the driver, bidding him a goodnight and made his way to the front doors. He fished out the ticket from his wallet and handed it over to the doormen for inspection in order to gain entry into the private event.

“You made it,” Riley said the moment he stepped in. She walked over to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. She was all dolled up and looked to be the most excited person there.

“You know I wouldn’t miss this,” Josh replied with a grin as he glanced around at all the people milling about taking the art. He knew Maya was probably thrilled at the turnout. But she was a damn good artist, and it was clear that she was going places. She was making a name for herself in the art world, and people were starting to take notice. “I’m going to see if I can find her.”

Josh was familiar with most of the art in the room, since she used the loft in their studio apartment as her art space. He wandered around and took it all in. He was so proud of what she had accomplished. He was also pleased to see that a lot of their family and friends had turned out to show their support.

He finally spotted her amongst the masses. She took a little off to the side, talking to an older gentleman who was gesturing wildly at a painting. Josh waited patiently for the man to wander off before approaching her.

“Josh!” she exclaimed as she wrapped his arms around her from behind. She leaned back into his chest, turning her head just enough to place a kiss on his jaw line.

“What was that all about?” He asked curiously, looking down at the top of Maya’s blonde head.

“He just bought one of my paintings,” Maya replied sounding giddy, “Well above the listing price. He said he knew that a few years down the road, what he paid would be a considered a steal for a Maya Hart original.”

Josh could already see someone from the gallery hurrying over with a little red sticker that said sold on it. The man pressed the sticker down next to the little blurb about the painting. Josh glanced around the room and let out a low whistle. There were red stickers beside almost half the paintings already.

His gaze snapped on a pair of paintings, and he immediately gravitated towards them, tugging Maya gently along with him. He looked at them a long time and then back down at the woman beside him. She had her lips pressed tightly together, trying to hold back a laugh at his expression.

The first painting was of a hazy figure in the foreground, who you could not really get a clean image off. In contract the background was sharp and clear and full of colour. It was the background that gave the location away. It the park that he used to play basketball in all those years ago, the park that he went to the summer before college where we would hang out with Maya on the regular. She drew him quite frequently there, but he knew instantly that this painting was from that very first meeting.

His eyes drifted over towards the second painting at the same park, except this time the background was hazed out, but his profile was crystal clear in the foreground. There were colours in the second painting that hadn't been used in the first which made it stand out all that much more. He could place this one perfectly as well. It from a year ago when he took Maya back to that same exact park and proposed to her.

He looked back at her and she shrugged her shoulders innocently at him.

“I just wanted a memento,” She said with a devilish smile.

He pulled her in for a kiss that was hard and soft and perfectly them in every way. They pulled away, both slightly breathless staring at each other with an intensity they never shared with anyone else. It was a promise of what would come later.

Josh was so undeniably in love with this woman. He knew when he proposed that the wedding would have to wait several years, since they both agreed that they wanted to get their careers off the ground before they took that next step, but it didn’t matter. He needed her to know that he was committed to spending the rest of his life with her. She had made it clear that she wanted the same thing. Both were willing to wait, as long as they could wait together.

She tucked herself into his side as they both continued to admire the paintings. He knew that he was hogging the artist, but the rest of the world could wait a couple more minutes. His eyes landed on the description plaque. The first thing he noticed was there was a big white sticker that emphasized that this series was not for sale in big bold letters. Secondly his eyes fell on the title.

‘ _SOMEDAY’_ By Maya Hart

-fin-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a million to everyone who enjoyed this fic. I hope that this little bonus chapter gave you a little bit more closure in regards to the life of Josh and Maya! <3
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you though in the comments!


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